A Short Survey of Hindu Temples

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A Short Survey of Hindu Temples

in Peshawar

IB R AHIM SHAH

The monumental glory of Peshawar encompasses historic

mosques, mausolea, well-laid gardens, sara'is and Hindu

temples. We confined the scope of this paper to a short

survey of Hindu temples in the city of Peshawar, so that

the rapidly-decaying ones erected in the nineteenth and

twentieth enturies could be recorded. They were built in

the architectural style then in vogue in the Peshawar valley.

Constructed by ordinary Hindu co mm unities, they may not

necessari ly be regarded as masterpieces of architecture,

unlike the well-planned and ornamented medieval temples

at Kafir Kot or in the Salt Range that could be the work of

rulers or a wealthy social class.

Temple construction has a long history in Northwest

Pakistan, and more specifically in the Peshawar valley.

Textual references to the existence of Brahmanical temples

here take us back to the fifth century BCE through the

second century B CE (A grawala 1953, pp. 358-60; Paul et

al , 1989, p.114). Inscriptional and archae ological evidence

indicates the construction of Hindu temple in Abbottabad

(third century CE) (Sircar 1987), Wanda Shahabkhel

(Bannu) (third century CE) (Khan 1992; 1993; Farooq

1988; Rahm an 1989; see Beal 1981, Pt. 2, pp. 281-2, who

enumerates five Hindu temples in Bannu) and Kashmir

Smast (district Mardan) (fourth/fifth century CE) (Nasim

Khan 2001a; 2001b; 2002; 2005; Dani 1988, p. 82; Beal

1981, Pt. l ,p p. 113ff). Reco rded by Sang Yun (520 CE ) (Beal

1981, Pt. 1, p. cii) and later confirmed by Xuanz ang (630 CE)

(Beal 1981, Pt. 1, p.109), a Hindu temple also existed in

Charsada (ancient Pushkalavati). The latter enumerates

about one hundred Hindu temples in Peshawar (Beal

1981, Pt. 1, p. 98). The lo catio n of the Svayambhumurti of

Bhimadevi and the temple of Ishvaradeva at Shiva (district

Swa bi)(Bea l 1981,pp. 113ff;Foucher 1 974,pp .36f;B aner jea

1956, pp. 83f, 135; 1985) is now claimed at Kash mir Smast

(Falk 2003). Epigraphic and archaeological evidence

suggest that a number of Hindu temples were built under

the direct patronage of the Odi (or Hindu) Shahis at their

capital ci ty of Hund (ancient Udabhandapura) (Rahman

1979a, pp. 309-40; 1979b, p. 73). Archaeological evidence

at mound E in Sahri Bahlol suggests the conversion of

some Buddhist viharas into Hindu temple in the time of the

Odi Shah is (Stein 1912, p . 15; 1915, pp. 116-7). There is some

scanty evidence of temple construction in the succeeding

centuries; this may have continued until 1834 CE, when the

Peshawar valley came into the political control of the Sikhs

(Shah 1998). The surviving Hindu temples in Peshawar

are predom inantly from the Sikh (1834 - 4 8 CE) and the

British (1849-1947 CE) periods.

It would be useful to work out the population ratio

of the Hindus inhabiting different localities of the city as

record ed since the British occupation in 1849. HG . Raverty

/. Western temple at Pancha Tirtha (1993).

119



IBRAHIM SHAH

2. Western temple at Pancha Tirtha (2008).

(1852, p. 17) counts 7306 house s in the city. Of thes e, Hin dus,Khatris and Sikhs occupied 2317. Gopal Das (1874, p.148)

recorded 9331 Hindu inhabitants out of the total urban

population of 60947. By 1901 the number of Hindus had

risen to 18552 in the city and to 40183 in the whole district

(The Imperial Gazetteer, pp. 149, 164). Approximately 50%

of the Hindus in the entire district lived in the city alone.

They would naturally have required a fairly good number

of temples, especially in the localities where they lived

in large concentrations. Raverty (1852, 17ff, 47) provides

further insight into their community; most of the Hindus

were associated with trade and commerce, and ran shops;

they were mainly money changer, chemists, confectioners,

gold smiths and drapers who dwelt in Karimpura,Andarshahr, Gor Khatri and Sir Assia. They were also

scattered throughout the whole province, mostly belonging

to the Khatri and Paracha Hindu trading clans. A small

number of Hindu families inhabited almost every village to

conduct local trade. But the majority lived in Peshawar as

the most influential traders on whom rested the prosperity

of the city. Although residing amongst Muslims, they freely

performed their religious rites and festivals (Gazetteer 1897-

8, pp. 97, 145; see also Das 1874, pp. 175-203 for temples,dharmashalas and population statistics of the Hindus in the

neighbouring villages).

With the above facts and figures in mind, we find

Hindu temples particularly in the cited localities of the city

where they lived in concentrated numbers for occupational

reasons. Some of these temples are briefly mentioned in a

few historical accounts, while others were recorded during

an archaeological survey of the Department of Archaeology,

University of Peshawar, in July 1993. In order to update the

information, the author again conducted short survey of

the city temples in April 2005 and June 2008; these are

discussed here individually.

The temples

1. Pancha Tirtha

Pancha Tirtha is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage

sites in Peshawar.1 The history of the site is described

thus: there existed five holy bathing places or the tirtha,

pipal trees and a shmashand ; it is an elevated place w ith

a crematorium for burning dead bodies; and it has been a

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A SHORT SURVEY OF HINDU TEMPLES IN PESHAWAR

3. Eastern tem ple at Pancha Tirtha.

place of great reverence and celebrity (N-WFP Gazetteers

1931, p. 319). Das (1874, p. 151) refers to the construction of

Hindu temples here beside the five sacred bathing ponds.

These temples and sacred ponds were disfigured during the

Durrani period (1747-1834 CE), and were reconstructed by

the local Hindus during the period of Sikh rule (1834-48

CE) in Pesh awa r (D as, 1874, p. 151).

Of all the original temples, only two now survive.

They are located a few metres away from each other in east-

west orientation. The western temple (the larger of the two)

(Fig. 1) was provided with an arched entran ce on the east

side which opened into a mandapa of small size with three

arched openings and a vaulted roof. The western temple

was found in a better state of preservatio n in 1993. Butduring our recent surveys in 2005 and 2008 (Fig. 2), flutes

of its domed superstructure and other decorative designs

originally executed in stucco were already badly mutilated.

It was during this period (i.e. 1993-2005) that the temple at

Rampura (see infra) was also destroyed. Building materials

of both temples at Pancha Tirtha (Fig. 3) comprise burnt

bricks of small size (locally called waziri bricks) thick set

in lime mortar and plastered. The style of construction and 4. W estern temple at Gor Khatri.



IBRAHIM SHAH

S. Shikhara details of the western temple at Cor Khatri.

6. Details of the southern wall of the above shrine.

Arched antarala at Gor Khatri.

122

decorative scheme - arched panel, slender pilasters of the

dvarashakhas, ribbed dome, minia ture niches and decorative

half-dome wroug ht in stucco at the apex of arched panels on

the northern wall - and other features of the western temple

are comparable to the late-nineteenth century buildings

scattered in different localities of Peshawar.

2. Gor Khatri temple

The Gor Khatri temple is another important monument

in Peshawar. The surviving architectural features of the

temple indicate that it dates from the Sikh period. However,

literary references to the site and its Hindu association

suggest that it could go as far back as the medieval period.

The earliest historical reference to this place of pilgrimage

is preserved in the Babar Namah (1975, pp. 230,394; Talbot,

1909, p.153), to be followed by Akbar (Abul Fazl, 1939,

III, p. 528) and Jahangir (Rogers, 1968, p. 102; Quddusi,

1968, p. 201) who all visited the spot after hearing about

its sacred nature and marvelous narrow underground

meditation cells.

Abu al-Fazl's remark s here is a temple called Gor-

Kata ri (Cunningham 1871, p. 89), perhaps referring to

the place of pilgrim age, [built] to perform th e shraddha

or funeral sacrifices in honour of their [presumably the

builde rs'] ance stor.... (Jaffar 1946, p. 80). In 1640 CE ,

Jahan Ara Begum (daughter of Shah Jahan, the Mughal

emperor) selected this deserted site for the construction of a

caravan sara i (that came to be known after her as the Sara 7

Jahanabad), which also contained a congregational mosque

and bathrooms as part of its archite ctural schem e. Avitabile,

the Sikh governor of Peshawar (1838-42 CE), used the lofty

western gateway of the sara'i as his official residence (Shah,

1998). It was during his governorship that the mosque was

pulled down, on which site was built a Hindu temple that

survi ves tod ay (Jaffar 1946, p. 103; cf. Das 1874, p. 153; Lai

1846, p. 53).

The complex comprises two temples, a deep well ,

a few rooms, a gateway and an enclosure wall. The two

temples are connected by an arcaded antarala (Fig 7). The

western temple (Fig 4) is different in size and shape from

the eastern one. According to SM Jaffar (1946, p. 82), the

former was dedicated to worshipping Shiva, and contained

shivalinga in red stone installed in the centre of the floor

of its garbagriha. The eastern one is said to be that of

Bhairava, another form of Shiva. Mural surfaces of both

shrines were painted with the l ikenesses of Brahma,

Ganesha, Shiva and Guru Gorakhnath.

2

Professor Dani(1969, p. 173), on the other hand, h olds that the ta ller tem ple

is that of Gorakhnath, and the subsidiary one is the Nandi

shrine. Since the entire temple complex was for the worship

of Shiva as the supreme god, the bigger temple should also

be that of Shiva, as is evident from the shivalinga found

there. Attached to the temple of Shiva to the north is a

big well originally operated by a Persian wheel (Das 1874,

p. 153; cf. Jaffar 1946, p. 82)3.

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A SHORT SURVEY OF HIN DU TEMPLES IN PESHAWAR

The we stern sh rine is square in plan, with a shikhara

superstructure above (Fig 5) the boldly projecting eave of

stone slabs. The outer corners of the shrine show engaged

pilasters, a feature also found in the western temple at

Panch Tirtha (see supra). Opening towards the east under

the vaulted roof of a small mandapa (Fig 8), the northe rn

and southern walls were pierced with windows to allow

fresh air and light into the interior of the shrine (Fig 6).

Externally these windows were decorated with framesand ornamental semi-domes within a tal l arched panel,

all done in stucco. The west wall merely shows an arched

panel. The shikhara is relieved with small arched panels

like devakoshtha, conta ining figural depiction of different

Hindu themes. We could not get into the shrine as it was

locked and the keys lost.

The eastern temple is octagonal in plan and shorter

in height than its western counterpart. It also opens into a

small vaulted mandapa. Internally, the walls are relieved

with five arched panels, the central one being in the form of

a deep niche with semi-dome crown. Contextual evidence

shows that figures of gods, which were originally standing,

were installed within them. The chief deity of the shrine

once occupied the central arched niche facing the doorway

opening on the west side, as it is more prominent than the

flanking pane ls (Fig 9). Signs of their removal from the

original context are still visible on the walls of the central

niche and the flanking panels.

The building style of the two shrines is comparable

to the other religious and secular structures of the Sikh

and British periods in Peshawar. Textual references and

architectural remains of the shrines at Gor Khatri help us

to date them in the Sikh period at the earliest (see Jaffar

1946, p . 83).

3. Asama'i Mandir

This beautiful and important temple complex is located

inside the famous As am a'i ga te, one of the 16 gates of

the walled city of Peshawar. This locali ty is known to

the people as Andarshahr ( inside the city ), and is still

occupied by the shops of goldsmiths, money changers and

antique dealers. Once there were as many as seven Hindu

temples, of which four now survive. The central temple,

which is the biggest of all, is believed to be that of the

Devi (i .e. Asa ma 'i) , while the other three, two to the north

and one to the south, are subsidiary shrine s. The cluster of

temples in this locali ty can be understood well from the

fact that most of the wealthier Hindus l ived here (Raverty

1852, p. 19). Jaffar (1946 p. 88) record s the n am e of this

temple as the asthana of Asa Devi (o r Asam a'i). Raver ty

(1852, p. 22) and others (Shah 1994) have used the Persian

term 'Asa (l i terally ma ce , scep ter or staff ) in the

sense of danda or gada. It s Vaishnava association may

be strengthened further by the images of Krishna, Rama,

Sita, Radha a nd As am a'i (cf. Jaffar 1946, p. 88). We

therefore suggest that the Asama'i temple was originally

8. W ooden door of the western shrine at Gor Khatri.

9. Eastern shrine at Gor Khatri, central arched niche with

traces of the now removed statue.



IBRAHIM SHAH

10. Main temple at Asamai complex.

dedicated to Vaishnavi, the shakti of Vishnu, who should

also hold the attributes of her male counterpart . 4

Das (1874, p. 150) informs us that the kaccha

building of the main temple was renovated with burnt

bricks set in l ime mortar and coated with plaster. The

temple in i ts present form is therefore a work of the

nineteenth century and not earl ier.

Standing on a raised podium, the main temple

is octagonal in plan externally and square internally

(Fig. 10). Ac cess to the temp le is prov ided on the east

side, and the remaining sides are relieved with tal l arched

panels. The boldly-projecting eave marks the springing

point of shikhara decoration at the base, with an acanthus

leaf motif as at the other temples of this study. The

pancarathi shikhara shows an arched devakoshtha

marked at the apex by a ribbed semi-dome depiction,

in the central offset . This ornamental motif is repeated

on all projectin g offsets. In 1897, a haradari mandapa

was added to i t on the east side, as confirmed by an

inscription installed on i ts wall .5 Adam Hardy (personal

com mu nicatio n, July 2005) calls this a 'pseudo-shekhari'

temple . The architect-mason, he says, has imitated the

shekhari temple without understanding i ts complicated

three-dimensional form. He adds that the niche takes the

place of the lowest urah-shringa of a shekhari temple

(Hardy 2002; 2007, pp. 115-8, 182-7).

Of the subsidiary shrines, one each to the north

(Fig. 11) and so uth (F ig. 12) of the main te mp le show a

shikhara-type super structur e. Adjacent to the one to the

north is the third subsidiary shrine, which has domed roof

fronted with a curved eave. The domed supe rstructure can

be compared with the western temple at Pancha Tirtha

while the curved eave has i ts parallel in the old entrance

(now totally renovated) of the mosque of Nasir Ahmad

behind the famous Qissa Khwani Bazaar (buil t 1883 CE)

(Rahman and Shah 1997).

4. Valmiki temple in Peshawar Cantonment

In the 1860s the local Hindus constructed three temples

here. The biggest among them is the Vishnu (also known

as Valmiki) temple in the locality called Kali Bari. Later

renovations include the present entrance, constructed in

1922 (Fig. 18), and m arble flooring, com pleted in 1930

(Imran 2002, p. 259).

124 South Asian Studies 2 4




/ / . Northern temple in the Asamai complex.

The temple consists of a main central hall and two

shrines - one each dedicated to shivalinga (Fig. 13) and

Valmiki (Fig. 14). Each shrine is surmo unted by a prominent

shikhara above. Asthanas of other Hindu gods and goddesses

are marked by arched niches hallowed by their images and

print portraits. The shivalinga shrine houses a metallic linga

set in pitha in the centre (Fig. 17), with two arched niches for

the images of Shiva and Kali respectively on the west and

north walls of the shrine. Wall paintings include different

aspects of heavenly figures and vegetal motifs in variegated

colours (Figs. 15,16) (see Raverty 1852, p. 22). The caretaker

of the temple informed the author that the Hindus took

away an image of Hanuman in 1947 (during the partition

of Pakistan and India), while fragments of another one arekept under lock in the main hall. 6 T he shikhara in each case

shows trirathi offsetting and kalasha motif with acanthus

leaf decoration at the springing point. Devakoshtha in the

Valmiki asthana is like an arched niche with cornice and

ornamental ribbed dome. The shikhara of the shivalinga

shrine is octagonal in shape and slightly bulging in the

middle. Elongated leaves and miniature kalasha mark each

of the three rathas on all the four sides. Atop the shikhara 12. Southern shrine in the Asamai complex.



IBRAHIM SHAH

13 . Shivalinga shrine in the Valmiki temple.

126 South Asian Studies 2 4



A SHORT SURVEY OF HIND U TEMPLES IN PESHAWAR

are two kalasha motifs done in masonry. Above them are

two miniature ones surmounted by a trishula; all are cast in

brass and are certainly later additions.

Behind the Valmiki temple another shrine

dedicated to Kali Mata was constructed (Das 1874, p. 152).

The neighbouring residential and trading area gained its

reputation under the name Kali Bari, after this temple. A

smaller temple still stands in the Chaurasi compound to

the southeast .7

5 The Dargah of Pir Ratan Na th

The Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath (Das 1874, p.150) is located

in the Jhanda (or flag ) bazaa r of Ka rim pura in the city

of Peshawar. Another dargah with the same name exists in

the bazaar of Kabul, where a famous image of urdhvareta

Ganesha originally brought from Gardez is worshipped

(Kuwayama 1979; see Rahman 1979a, p. 338). Our dargah

consists of samadhis, shrines and rooms for the boarding

and lodging of pilgrims from distant places in the country

who used to visit here on the occasion of festivals. The

shrine of shivalinga is more interesting of all where a black

stone shivalinga is fixed on an octagonal pitha of white

marble. A kalasha (or water pitcher) is placed on a tripod

above i t (see Nasim Khan 2006, p. 74, Fig. 69 showing an

illustration from Vikramacharita). Beside i t is recumbent

bull (or vrisha) (see Bhattacharya 1977) carved out of white

marble gazing placidly at the shivalinga.8

6. Temple in Forward High School, Karimp ura

Used as a storehouse, this temple lies within the premises

of Forward High School (for Boys) in the Karimpura bazaar

of the Peshawar city (Fig. 19). A conical shikhara on a

square garbhagriha, now hidden behind the lofty walls of

the adjacent buildings, speaks of the existence of an oldHindu temple. Behind it is a dharmashala in the locality

of Vangari Garan (or Bangari Garan, meaning the bangle-

ma kers ' quarte r ) (D as 1874, p. 151), which ce rtainly dates

from the British period (i.e. 1849-1947).9

7 Rampurva temples

In 1993, we recorded two temples inside the Rampurva gate,

one of the sixteen gates (mistakenly mentioned as thirteen

in Raverty 1852, p. 14) of Peshawar. However, our survey

in early 2005 failed to locate them. A senior shopkeeper

of the locality curiously informed us that they had been

dismantled a few years back.

8. Temple in J agannathpura

In 1993 we also recorded another temple in Jagann athpura,

a locality between the Grand Trunk road and the railway

track to its north. However, our latest survey could not

find it in physical entirety; we only located its entrance.

The building was raised in burnt bricks set in lime mortar.

Traditionally, a large pipal tree was also found beside it.

Now the site is occupied by a house recently constructed

14. Valm iki shrine in the Valmiki temple.

15. Wall paintings in the Valmiki shr ine.

127



IBRAHIM SHAH

16. Mura l paintings in the soffit of the dome of the Valmiki

shrine.

17. Abhisheka ritual being performed with milk in the

Shivalinga shrine.

128

and rented out by the provincial Auqaf department. The

building materials and style of construction of this temple

suggest a date sometime in the late nineteenth or early

twentieth century.

9. Jogan Shah temple

Located inside the Dabgari gate (one of the sixteen gates of

the city of Peshawar) and now used for residential purposes,

this multi-storeyed building originally served as the temple ofJogan Shah, a certain Hindu yogi, also called Bhai Joga. The

building, Das (1874, p. 150) estimates, was constructed at the

cost often thousand rupees.

Externally there survive remains of plinth from an

old wall, which was embellished with leaf decoration on the

stylobate of white marble. The wall below is revetted with red

stone slabs carved with lions and elephants (Iqbal 200 2, p. 82).

The depiction of these anim als is significant and, in conformity

with the local information and the statement of Das himself

(1874, p. 150), confirms the location of the tem ple.

10. Baba Kalu Ram Mandir

Inside the Sar Assia gate in the southwestern quarter of the

city of Peshawar, there once there stood a Hindu temple

in a dilapidated condition, locally known as Baba Kalu

Ram Mandir (Iqbal 2002, p. 83). Our survey of the area

(in 2005) brought to light no remains whatsoever of that

temple. However, we were told by a local resident that a

multi-storeyed building had been constructed recently on

the site of that temple.

/ / Sangi Garan temple

Not far from the above site and now converted into a house,

there once stood a temple in the locality of Sangi Garan

( the stone c arve rs ), hence its nam e. The w alls of the

temple were reportedly embellished with stone carvings

like the murti of Ganesha and other Hindu divinities (Iqbal

2002, p. 83).

12. Hindu temple in the Civil Quarters

Chaudhry Masood, a retired bank officer, states that there

was a Hindu tem ple in the Civil Qua rters, Peshawar, which

was later converted into a school where he was educated in

the 1950s.

13 . Hanuman temple in Shaheen Bazaar

Odi Ram (a local resident and member of the management

committee of the Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath of Peshawar)claims that there once stood a Hindu temple dedicated to

Hanuman in the Shaheen cloth market (Karimpura), whose

site was recently converted into a school.

4 Temples in Kakaran Karimpura)

There were once two grand temples in the locality of

Kakaran (now Muhallah Haveli Shakur Khan). Now a

house and a school occupy their sites.1

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A SHORT SURVEY OF HIND U TEMPLES IN PESHAWAR

Conclusion

From a brief analysis of the temples recorded during our

surveys of the city of Peshawar in 1993, 2005 and 2008 ,

it appears that they are built in burnt bricks of small size

laid in l ime mortar. They were plastered and (aside from

figures of gods) the mural surfaces were decorated with

panels of different sizes, engaged pilasters on the outer

corners of the shrines, acanthus leaf at the springingpoint of the shikhara, small niches and half-dome designs.

These patterns and designs are commonly found in the city

buildings, irrespective of religious dist inction, buil t durin g

the Sikh (1834-1848) and British (1849-1947) periods. The

superstructure of the temples of our concern is found

in three types: domed in the case of shrines at Pancha

Tirtha, the eastern shrine and the arcaded antarala of Go r

Khatri and one of the subsidiary shrines at the Asama'i

complex; vaulted in the case of the mandapas in front

of the temples at Pancha Tirtha and the western temple

at Gor Khatri . The western temple at Gor Khatri , three

temples at the Asama'i complex, the one in the Forward

High School and the shrines at the Valmiki complex areall provided with shikhara-type super structure . Except for

the main temple at the Asama'i complex, the remaining

examples have a devakoshtha repeated on every plane of

the temple projection. Shrines at the Valmiki temple and

the Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath st i l l retain the shivatinga

and evidence of its cultic rituals, while that from the

western shrine of Gor Khatri has been removed. Painted

decoration st i l l survives in the shrines at Valmiki and Gor

Khatri. In addition to the shivalinga, images of gods and

goddess were originally installed in all these temples. The

shrines at Valmiki and the Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath have

sculptured decoration. The eastern shrine at Gor Khatri

has procured evidence of the removal of godly statuesfrom original context.

These temples were erected and decorated in the

building style of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

then in vogue in the Peshawar valley. The stucco

decoration of the religious and secular buildings of the

Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs in Peshawar is similar in

terms of treatment and execution. Most of the mosques

and tombs erected about this t ime show ribbed domes of

the type which is also found in a few of the temples we

explored. It may be noted that the architect-masons were

adept in raising temples with a shikhara supers t ructure ,

sometimes imitating the shekhari temples of the medieval

period.

The temples under review are the only surviving

vestiges of the tangible heritage of the Hindu s in Pesh awar.

There is a dire need to save, restore and conserve their

architectural and decorative beauty for proper study and

analysis by students of the history of art and architecture.

All photographs are by the author.

18. Main entrance to the Valmiki temple.

129



IBRAHIM SHAH

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My sincere grati tude is due to my teacher, Professor MF

Swati, for partly corr ectin g the draft of this paper and giving

worthy suggestions to improve i t . I must acknowledge the

active support of my teacher, Professor Abdur Rahman, in

academic matters. Asad Ali , Photographic Superintendent

in the Department of Archaeology, Peshawar University,

equally deserves to be thanked for mak ing nice p hotographsof the monuments under review. I am also grateful to Dr

Adam Hardy (Cardiff U niversity, UK) and Professor M ichael

W. Meister (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA)

for their generous help and active encouragement. I must

thank all those individuals who helped me in one way or

another during my surveys of the Peshawar tem ples in 1993,

2005 and 2008.

NOTES

1 Literally five holy places , tirtha also means stairs

for descending into a river, a bathing area, a place of

pilgrimage on the bank of a sacred stream, a water

body etc. (see M onier-Will iams 1951, pp. 576, 448).

2 The followers of Gora khnath are called Gorakhnathi,

Darshani or Kanphata yogis (Briggs 1973, p. 1).

Some other saints of the Gorakhnathis are also

associated with Peshawar, such as Pagalnath,

Man nath and Ra tannath (Briggs 1973, pp. 63,

65 , 71). Gor Khatri (also called Gorakhshetra) is

hallowed by Gora khnath as he had l ived here in the

Satya yoga (Briggs 1973, p. 98). After Gora khnath ,

Ratannath was the chief saint of this order of yogis

in Peshawar. Their shrines are also scattered in

Kohat, Jalalabad, Sargodha, Sialkot and Kabul.

Mir Ziyarat (a Buddhist si te) in Charsadda also

has some association with the Gorakhnathis. It is

sacred to them as Gorakhnath meditated here with

his disciples (Marshall & Vogel 1904, p. 154). In

his honour, a religious gathering (or mela) is held

twice a year (N-W.F.Province Gazetteers 1931,

p. 320). A legend says that Dharm anath, the founder

of the Dharm anathis, was a disciple of Gora khnath

who went to Nepal from Peshawar sometime in the

last quarter of the fourteenth century (Briggs 1973,

pp . 116-8; Eliot 1957, p. 7 adds that these w andering

ascetics called Nathas arose in the fourte enth

century). Guru N anak is also said to have visi ted

Gor Khatri in his fifth retirement (Briggs 1973,

pp. 236-8); that is why both temples here contain his

effigies in paintings. Scattered in different parts of

India, the Gorakhnathis had secure d a firm base in

the Punjab. The Jogi Tila near Jhelum is their most

important and famous monastic establishment in

the entire subcontinent.

3 The local Hindus relate an interesting story about

this well : when Gorakhnath, the founder of these

temp les (Jaffar 1946, p. 82), was perse cuted by his

religious opponents, he plunged into it. After a

few days, he reappeared in a tank near Babugarhi

(Rave rty 1852, p. 23; see Da s 1874, p. 153), two kos

west of the Peshaw ar city (Jaffar 1946, p. 83). The

tank now lay within the recently laid out Khushhal

Bagh near Babugarhi, on the Warsak Road. During

our survey of the district in 1993, we learnt fromthe local people about the existence of a shmashana

(crematorium) and other Hindu attachments to this

fountain-fed tank.

In the Mahabharata, 'Asa is used for Sinivali or

Devasena (i.e. Shashthi or the consort of Karttikeya,

thus Kaumari). She is the daughter of Indra (Sinha

1979, pp. 756; Sumany 2002, p. 88; Hopkins 1968,

p. 229). On the other han d, Joshi (1967, p. 223)

records that Mayi refers to Punyagiri Mayi being

the well-known place of Shakti worship in district

Alm ora (UP). According to Professor AL Basham

(1956, p. 312), the Ammai stands for Mata (or

mother) in Tamil country. In common parlance, theword Ma 7 is spoken as a token of respect for aged

women in the sense of mother and 'asa for mace or

scepter. The local Hindus seem to have taken it for

gadadhara Vaishn avi (the cons ort of Vishnu), one

of the seven divine mothers, who also holds mace

(or gada) (see Shah 2006).

These temples, lying in a small locality of the

Kashmiris, are approached by a big wooden door

behind the A ndarsh ahr ba zar (which is st i ll reputed

for gold smiths, moneychangers and antique dealers).

A local resident informed us that the fragmentary

remains of a horse wrought in stucco still survive

inside the main temple in addition to the feet of a

male carved in white marble in different contexts.

We could not get into the temple as junk from their

households was piled up there. A deep water tank

still lies adjacent to the haradari on the north side,

a large pipal tree and the now-blocked underground

cham ber. Form erly, a festival of Kali used to be held

here regularly in the month of Jyeshtha, attended by

a large number of Hindus (Das 1874, p. 150).

Interestingly, we visited the temple on Monday

and took the opportunity to watch the abhisheka

ritual of shivalinga (Fig. 17). We asked Ram Lai,

caretaker of the temple, to have it repeated so that

we could take pictures of all its stages. The author

is especially grateful to him for his opening the

temple for us and staying with us the whole time we

remained there. He also showed us another temple

located in the nearby Chaurasi compound.

Ram Lai, custodian of both temples, informed the

author that a shivalinga has been removed from here

to the storehouse of the Valmiki temple (see supra).

130 South Asian Studies 24




This temple is now closed for worship, as it is in

dilapidated condition and awaits recons truction.

8 Moti Ram , custodian of the dargah, permitted us

to visit, but without taking photographs. In the

course of our discussion, he referred to the dargah

of Pir Ratannath in Ka bul, and also pointed out the

relation of Pir Ratannath with Guru Gorakhnath

of Gor Khatri. We find its confirmation in Briggs'

work (1973, p. 98) where he mentions that Pir

Ratannath of Peshawar was the chief saint of the

Kanphata yogis. U nlike the orthodox Kanphatas, he

adds, they do not pierce their ears to wear rings, as

they believe they wear them in their hearts (B riggs

1973, p. 98). On Mondays, the pujaris perform the

ritual of abhisheka of shivalinga with milk. The

management of the dargah once again forbade the

taking of pictures inside the shrines when we visi ted

the city temples on Saturday, 28 June 2008.

9 According to Monier-W ill iams (1951, p. 512), the

word dharmashala mean s court of justice, tr ibunal,

charitable asylum, religious asylum; while the

mandira stands for any waiting or abiding place,

habitation, dwelling, house or temple.

10 Ayaz, an archa eology gradu ate, who is an influential

person in the city of Peshawar, arranged for us

to meet Wahid, a local council lor. The latter

acquainted us with two other council lors, Khwaja

Ayaz and Indra Prakash, of the Karimpura Union

Council . All three helped in locating these two

temples (and others). The author w ishes to thank all

of them for heir hospitality and cooperation during

our survey in 2005. The site of one of these temples

is reportedly occupied by a house and a school.

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Documents

A Short Survey of Hindu Temples